Turning tables
I’ve gone from sitting in classrooms to being in front of a classroom, from feeling generally competent to feeling unsure as to how to order dinner, and from noticing “outsiders” to being the one who doesn’t belong. It’s good to put yourself on the other side of things sometimes, and I’m certainly getting my fair share of it in Bangkok!
I’m closing in on the end of the first month in Bangkok – yet again, how time flies! Teaching has definitely gotten easier (well, less stressful), though I can’t say that I’ll ever hit a point of actually liking it. There are things I like about it, but overall I’m pretty sure that this is not my calling in life… Next week is the first round of tests, so we’ll see if I’ve managed to teach anything to anyone!
Time has flown as it always does when you get into a daily routine, but it’s also passed by so quickly due to a lot of breaks in the routine! Last Thursday was Teacher Appreciation Day, which meant that all classes were cancelled (and about half the students didn’t show up the day before because they were busy with preparations). This special day consisted of sitting up on a stage with the Thai teachers in front of a couple thousand students (all of them quieter than I’d ever imagined possible!) and listening to extremely lengthy speeches in Thai by people that I assume are important. Then we sat some more as each student came to the stage with an elaborate flower arrangement they’d made, kneeled down in front of us, handed it over and we passed it down the row of teachers to another student at the end who set it in front of the stage. Since I don’t understand Thai, I have no idea what was really going on, but I do know that these kids could all be millionaire florists in the states – the creations were incredible! Thais are definitely talented when it comes to precision and beauty. Anyways, it was a strange affair, but it got me out of teaching and lunch was also provided at no cost!
Last Friday I headed to Khao San Road for the first time, which is the notorious “backpacker ghetto” in Bangkok. This means that it’s all foreigners, lots of bars, clubs, cheap accommodation and pad thai street vendors. I was excited to finally see a good portion of our training group again, as all of us that are living in Bangkok were planning to meet up there. I’m learning the ins and outs of transportation, and the most important thing is to INSIST that taxi drivers use the meter. I hate to admit it, but being white makes you an instant scam target, and everyone will try! The taxi driver tried to get us to agree to a 200 baht fare (only $6, but still…) but we refused to get in unless he used the meter. He finally agreed and the fare came out to 68 baht – these tricks are important! Another very important taxi trick is to listen to how Thai people say place names. If I tell a driver that I need to go to Bangsue, they will look at me like I’m from Mars. If I say “Bongsoooo,” off we go. Tonal languages are not easy to pick up!
Anyhow, as soon as we got to Khao San I felt like I’d arrived on another planet – I saw more white people in 30 seconds than I’d seen in the past three weeks combined! It was strange though, it felt more uncomfortable than anything. I’ve been living in a Thai neighborhood where no one is catering to me; if anything, people in Bangsue are more than helpful and friendly, but they aren’t quite sure why I’m there and it makes no difference to them whether I am or not. Arriving in such a tourist area, I couldn’t help but notice the hoards of loud, drunk, obnoxious backpacker types trampling all over the place. They’re all thrilled to be “experiencing Thailand” when in reality they’re doing exactly what they’d be doing at home, talking only to fellow foreigners, getting angry when a Thai person can’t understand what they’re ordering and getting even angrier when the bathroom/table/drink is not clean/spacious/cheap. They take pictures of the 8 year olds trying to sell flowers on the street and then laugh and wave the kid off afterwards. I’m generalizing of course, but this was the overall feel of things.
It was more than apparent on the face of every single Thai person working there that they are NOT impressed and consider westerners to be a necessary evil. This is exactly where the “ugly farang” stereotype gets started and is exactly why Thais aren’t particularly thrilled to see the white people walking into their shop or up to their foodcart. I’ve definitely gotten the impression that I’ve got to earn my respect, and I can now see why that is. In any case, I was more uncomfortable being white and blonde on that heavily touristed strip than I’ve ever felt walking around Bangsue! I did not want to be labeled.
Okay, moving on. I did manage to have fun with friends despite my tendency to think too much, and it was a very, very late night. The next morning I headed to Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is one subway stop away from here and is one of the largest markets in the world, with over 15,000 vendors! It covers 35 acres and literally has anything you could ever imagine…everything from clothing to furniture to pet squirrels to komodo dragons to electronics to imported and handmade EVERYTHING. Want to try drinking snake blood? This is the place. It was hot, crowded, maze-like and incredible! I managed to stick it out for 6 hours on Saturday (with the help of bags of fresh pineapple, guava and handmade coconut “icecream”) and bought plenty of things for myself (despite my intention to buy gifts). It was frustrating, as there are so many hundreds of things I would LOVE to have for a house but of course, cannot buy here. Things you could find in a specialty import store at home, but at a tenth of the cost (plus, you can buy it from the person who made it). As a rule, I hate to shop, but Chatuchak made me love it!
It wore me out, and I was asleep by 8:30 that night. On Sunday, Raina and I headed back for round two, managing to spend more money and eat more coconut icecream. The great part is that by “spending a lot of money,” I mean that I spent maybe $20 in both days combined. This includes several items of clothing, a new handmade bag from India, food, drinks, perfume (I needed it!), incense (my room needed it!) and some jewelry. Everything is bargainable, and the more Thai you use, the cheaper it gets. Flexible pricing seems to be the key to making shopping an enjoyable experience for me – it’s like a game! I’m planning to go explore the riverboat system tomorrow and see other areas of Bangkok, but I have a feeling that I’ll end up back at Chatuchak at some point. I do have to buy gifts, after all!
I’ll have to get back to this later and touch on my camp experience (ie two days as a ‘token white person’) and the monkey temple! For now, I need to go pay the tea lady a visit…
Tags: Travel
allisonrae
June 21st, 2008 at 9:24 am
Maybe its just the Lebanese Rug Merchant blood that runs through my veins but a 15,000+ merchant market sounds like heaven! I dont know about the desire or the medicinal benefits of snake blood though. I know Allison is a bit adventurous, but I would bet she passed on this also! Love ya, A-Rae.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
15,000 merchants is a wonderful thing, but with your hatred of crowds and slow movers, you would probably hate it. It’s absolutely packed, hot and, in accordance with Thai culture, impatience and aggravation are absolutely not allowed 😉
June 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
And no, no snake blood for me! I stuck with fresh fruit and icecream…
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
All I can say is WOW! Your time there seems so unreal, yet so packed with stuff to do. I am really enjoying your posts and think you would make a fantastic travel writer. Can’t think of any reason to try out snake blood! We look forward to your next post!
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Thanks John, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog – let me know if you come across someone who wants to employ a travel writer and I’ll throw in the towel on this teaching thing! 😉
September 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I really like how the blog says your posting from australia. Are you trying to scam be allsion?